Does Pat Tillman need to give back his "Ultimate Hero of the Universe" award?

Some of you may remember the stir caused by Pat Tillman's death in April. Tillman was a professional football player who turned down a $3.6 million dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals, to fight some towelhead terror with the US Army. Sucker! Long story short: Tillman was killed in combat. Short story long: He was killed by friendly fire from other US soldiers in a major fuck-up. Here is how the US Army reported on his death:

"He ordered his team to dismount and then maneuvered the Rangers up a hill near the enemy's location," the release said. "As they crested the hill, Tillman directed his team into firing positions and personally provided suppressive fire. . . . Tillman's voice was heard issuing commands to take the fight to the enemy forces."

[...]Only after Tillman's team had engaged the well-armed enemy did it appear that the hostile fires directed at the Ranger trail section were diminished.

Leading his Rangers without regard for his own safety, Tillman was shot and killed while focusing his efforts on the elimination of the enemy forces and the protection of his team members.

Did you catch the reference to friendly fire? Me neither. I see enemies, I see teamwork, loyalty, bravery; all that stuff. But not even a causal "oh by the way he was killed by his own unit." And before a single person says: "DUDE, THEY DIDNT KNOW, WAR IS CONFUSING," at the time the army issued that statement they were already investigating the incident. According to a recent Washington Post article:

[A]t the time it was issued, investigators in Afghanistan had already taken at least 14 sworn statements from Tillman's platoon members that made clear the true causes of his death. The statements included a searing account from the Ranger nearest Tillman during the firefight, who quoted him as shouting "Cease fire! Friendlies!" with his last breaths.

Believe me, I'm not saying that Tillman wasn't a hero because he wasn't killed by bad guys. I realize that friendly fire is a fact of war. When you go to war there's a good chance you'll be injured or killed. That's why it's called "War" instead of "Sightseeing". In a sizeable minority of cases it's not "Alak Al-Akalak" doing the killing, it's some guy named "Jed" from West Virginia.

What I do find telling is that the Army saw fit to "spin" his death and play with the facts. By blaming terrorists for killing Tillman, he could be used as a recruiting tool by the US Army, and by an army of conservative columnists across the country. This reaction was typical among conservatives:

[E]verywhere in America, I suspect that they will be inspired by Tillman's example to enlist in the fight against Islamofascism, as pure a form of evil as this planet has ever seen. Tillman's death will, surely, be avenged by others as determined and as patriotic as he was. The enemy, by killing him as by killing other Americans, has only hastened the day of its own destruction.

I don't know, the terrorists seem to be doing ok to me. Osama Bin Laden is making more short subject documentaries than most NYU film students. As of now, much of the country is still ruled by warlords and Taliban holdouts. Heroin production in the country, which supports terrorist assholes, is at an all time high. In Pat Tillmans case, the Islamofascists didn't even have to kill him to kill him, they were in a cave somewhere enjoying a nice glass of iced tea. I'm sure Pat would agree that all of the enemy bullets that missed him were a lot friendlier than the allied bullets that hit him. Considering the facts of Pat Tillman's death, I can't logically be angry at Islamists, and I'm sure as shit not going to avenge his death by fighting the United States Army.

Some internal agency that probably has a show on CBS investigated, and the consequences were pretty serious: "In the end, one member of Tillman's platoon received formal administrative charges, four others -- including one officer -- were discharged from the Rangers but not from the Army, and two additional officers were reprimanded." In the aftermath of Tillman's death, seven soldiers were removed from duty or reprimanded. Including Pat, that's eight fewer guys out there looking for terrorists. Way to go Pat.